Automated banking machines are well known. A common type of automated banking machine used by consumers is an automated teller machine ("ATM"). ATMs enable customers to carry out banking transactions. Common banking transactions that may be carried out with ATMs include the dispensing of cash, the making of deposits, the transfer of funds between accounts, the payment of bills and account balance inquiries. The type of banking transactions a customer can carry out are determined by capabilities of the particular banking machine and the programming of the institution operating the machine. Other types of automated banking machines may allow customers to charge against accounts or to transfer funds. Other types of automated banking machines may print or dispense items of value such as coupons, tickets, wagering slips, vouchers, checks, food stamps, money orders, scrip or travelers checks. For purposes of this disclosure an automated banking machine or automated transaction machine shall encompass any device which carries out transactions including transfers of value.
Currently ATMs are operated in proprietary communications networks. These networks interconnect ATMs operated by financial institutions and other entities. The interconnection of the networks often enables a user to use a banking machine operated by another institution if the foreign institution's banking machine is interconnected with the network that includes the user's institution. However when the customer operates the foreign institution's machine the customer must operate the machine using the customer interface that has been established by the foreign institution for its banking machines. In addition the user is limited to the transaction options provided by the foreign institution.
A customer may encounter difficulties when using a foreign institution's machine. Problems may occur because the user is not familiar with the type of machine operated by the foreign institution. Confusion may result because the customer does not know which buttons or other mechanisms to actuate to accomplish the desired transactions. The transaction flow for a customer at a foreign institution machine may be significantly different from machines operated by the user's home institution. This may be particularly a problem when the user is from another country and is not familiar with the type of banking machine or the language of the interface provided by the foreign institution. Likewise, the documents which are printed by printers in an automated banking machine are generally limited to a limited group of defined formats in a single language.
A foreign institution may also provide different types of transactions than the user is familiar with at their home institution. For example the user's home institution may enable the transfer of funds between accounts through their automated banking machines, to enable the user to maintain funds in higher interest bearing accounts until they are needed. If the foreign institution does not provide this capability, the user will be unable to do this when operating the foreign machine. The inability of a user at a foreign machine to conduct the transactions that they are accustomed to may present problems.
The networks that operate automated teller machines and other types of automated banking machines generally operate proprietary networks to which access is restricted. This is necessary to prevent fraud or tampering with the network or user's accounts. Proprietary networks are also generally used for the transmission of credit card messages and other financial transaction messages. Access to such credit card processing systems is also restricted primarily for purposes of maintaining security.
Communication over wide area networks enables messages to be communicated between distant locations. The best known wide area network is the Internet which can be used to provide communication between computers throughout the world. The Internet is not widely used for financial transaction messages because it is not a secure system. Messages intended for receipt at a particular computer address may be intercepted at other addresses without detection. Because the messages may be intercepted at locations that are distant in the world from the intended recipient, there is potential for fraud and corruption.
Companies are beginning to provide approaches for more secure transmission of messages on the Internet. Encryption techniques are also being applied to Internet messages. However the openness of the Internet has limited its usefulness for purposes of financial messages, particularly financial messages associated with the operation of automated banking machines.
Messages in wide area networks may be communicated using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet protocol ("TCP/IP"). U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,422 shows an example of a system in which financial information stored in databases is accessed through a private wide area network using TCP/IP messages. The messages transmitted in such networks which use TCP/IP may include "documents" (also called "pages"). Such documents are produced in Hypertext Markup Language ("HTML") which is a reference to a type of programming language used to produce documents with commands or `tags" therein. The tags are codes which define features and/or operations of the document such as fonts, layout, imbedded graphics and hypertext links. HTML documents are processed or read through use of a computer program referred to as a "browser". The tags tell the browser how to process and control what is seen on a screen and/or is heard on speakers connected to the computer running the browser when the document is processed. HTML documents may be transmitted over a network through the Hypertext Transfer Protocol ("HTTP"). The term "Hypertext" is a reference to the ability to embed links into the text of a document that allow communication to other documents which can be accessed in the network.
Thus there exists a need for an automated banking machine and system that can be used in a wide area network such as the Internet while providing a high level of security. There further exists a need for an automated banking machine and system which provides a user with the familiar interface and transaction options of their home institution when operating foreign institution machines. There further exists a need for a machine which may provide more transaction options and types of promotional and printed materials to users.